Author: David

Three members of the Cricket Shropshire Disability community were in the spotlight during the Presentation Evening held at the Albright Hussey Hotel.

The three awards were handed out as Coach Graham Furber reflected on a mixed season for the county’s Disability sides – the D40s and the S9s – presented by Lead Coach Jonathan Caldecott.

He said: “It’s fair to say that the Disability squads have had a difficult season. The S9s finished bottom of their group without a win, but the weather did disadvantage us on two occasions and adversely influence the result.

“The D40s finished third in a their group, despite being top after the first two games – a similar situation to last year.

“Our main problem has been unavailability, with three regulars being unavailable for the whole season due to illness and injury, and a further one due to international call-ups. 

“We need to recruit to bolster our aging squads, with both youngsters and established players.

“We will be working closely with Cricket Shropshire to raise the profile of disability cricket in the county in the coming months – if you know of anyone in your club that would be eligible to join our squads, please get in touch.”

Successes:

• Youngster Oli Harrison debuted for the England and Wales Transplant Team.
• Youngster Tom Wallace took 5-17 in four overs against Yorkshire D40s at home, when the game looked lost.
• Congratulations to Dave Hassall, our S9 Squad Manager for winning one of the Cricket Shropshire Volunteer of the Month Awards (part of ECB Grassroots Awards).
• The Disability Premier League was held again this summer – Pirates beat Tridents in a Sky televised game at Sofia Gardens
• Kev Baker played for Black Cats, James Wojda coached Hawks, Matty Bailey played for Tridents.
• Matty Bailey couldn’t play for us this season because he was always representing England Deaf in a series with India (India won series 5-2). Hopefully he will be available to us next summer.

S9 Player of the Season – Ewan Woodhouse

Graham said: “Ewan who has been with us for a couple of years, but who couldn’t start the season with us because of taking his GCSEs. Once available, he represented both the S9 and D40 squads and contributed something in every game he played.

“For the S9s, he made 38 v Warwickshire away in the pouring rain (4x4s and 3x6s!) and took 3-19 against Staffordshire away. For the D40s he took 3-17 v Warwickshire at home.”

D40 Player of the Season – Adam Marshall

Graham said: “Adam is unable to be at the awards because he is spending the Winter playing cricket in Australia. He returned to play for Shropshire this Summer, after taking a year away with Yorkshire. In five innings he scored 205 runs at an average of 68.33 with a top score of 75 not out at Yorkshire.

“Bowling he took 2-8 against Yorkshire away and 3-33 against Warwickshire at home.

“In this latter match, he also had kept wicket for the first 20 overs of the innings due to illness of our regular ‘keeper, Kev Baker.”

Disability Champion of the Year – Ellen Hassell

Disability Coach Tyler Ibbotson said: “Ellen has shown remarkable dedication and commitment over several years, particularly in scoring for the Super 9s and D40 games. 

“Her consistent hard work and passion have made a significant impact, ensuring that every game runsmoothly and that all players feel valued and supported. Her behind-the-scenes contributions often go unnoticed and they have been asset to our community. 

“Ellen, your dedication is truly inspiring. Thank you and congratulations!”

If anyone would like a high-resolution digital version of any of these pictures, we can supply them for £5, half of which will be donated to the chosen charity of the evening MIND. If you wish to order three pictures it will be £10, five for £15 or 10 for £20.